Real music is hard to find. If you've ever felt suffocated in the age of fakery and hype, then Savoy Brown s latest album The Devil To Pay is a blast furnace / breath of fresh air. Driven by classic blues and age-old human truths but dragged into contemporary relevance by stinging musicianship and modern savvy "legendary guitar player" Kim Simmonds new songs have arrived when we need them most. In many ways, considers this the best album I ve ever done. It s fresh and new, and belongs to the twenty-first century.
The Devil to Pay, Simmonds' 45th album release, brings that passion thrillingly. Savoy Brown s 50th year as pack-leaders of the British blues scene The Devil To Pay was born during a white-knuckle burst of inspiration. We recorded the album in April 2015 at SubCat Studios in Syracuse, New York, reflects Kim. I record very fast, within two or three days, and most of the work is done in a single day."
All the work is done in the months before going into the studio. The songwriting, getting the focus right, the rehearsals, the practice, playing the material live. The Devil To Pay represents years of wood shedding in Kim s White Cottage Studio, usually at o dark thirty in the morning.
Between tours, Simmonds is constantly honing his craft, playing guitar, singing, writing songs, recording. "Once all that is done, it s a simple matter of going into the studio and catching the moment, exactly like I did, for instance, with Street Corner Talking back in 1971.